The regular-season schedule has arrived

The WHL released its regular season schedule this morning. Everett’s schedule can be found at the Silvertips website. I’m was a little more curious about how the schedule was constructed this year because the league changed how the schedule was made. In the past the league held a scheduling meeting in which it was created manually, and I always pictured that as something of a feeding frenzy. This is the first year in which it was created electronically. Anyway. here’s some notable games/thoughts:

– The Tips open the season at home on Saturday, Sept. 21 against Prince George. It’s the second straight season Everett entertains the Cougars to begin the season, though the teams play just once this year instead of twice.

– It’s a very slow start for the Tips, with just one game each of the first two weekends of the season. Everett doesn’t play its third game until October.

– Once again the Tips get an extra two games against Vancouver (playing six times instead of four). This year its Tri-City that gives way (eight meetings instead of 10).

– There’s six three-in-three weekends this season, which is a pretty standard amount.

– Everett’s long road trips are a weird hybrid this year. Usually the Tips have two long bus rides, once out east and once to Prince George. Well, this year the eastern swing is split in two, but the trip to Prince George is attached to the end of the first of those. Therefore, it’s two four-game trips instead of one six-game trip and one two-game trip, though that ride from Edmonton to Prince George is going to be a lengthy one. The first trip is in October, the second in November, so they’ll be out of the way quickly.

– The Tips have a Monday afternoon game on Veterans Day this year. I can’t remember any of those in the past, but it might be a regular thing going forward, considering Everett is a Navy town.

– It’s a nine-day Christmas break this year from Dec. 18-26.

– Everett and Victoria play home-and-home sets twice, so two ferry rides to Vancouver Island with quick turnarounds both times. The first of those is a night game on new year’s eve in Everett, followed by an afternoon game on new year’s day in Victoria. Glad I don’t have to get on the boat for that one.

– Get ready to see plenty of Seattle in the second half. Nine of the 10 meetings come after the break, meaning a full quarter of Everett’s second-half games are against the T-birds.

– Everett better position itself well before the final stretch. The Tips play eight games in March, with just two being at home. The final home game is Saturday, March 15, against Victoria. The season finale is the next day at Portland.